HERMISTON – As hosts of the Intermountain Conference wrestling tournament, the Hermiston Bulldogs pushed their weight around in the Dawg House Friday.

The squad finished day 1 of the district tournament with 197 points, edging Crook County’s 187.5, and will put 15 wrestlers in semifinal matches today.

The Pendleton Buckaroos earned 98 points in opening day action, good enough for third place, and will send eight of their own into the semis.

All told, 24 wrestlers from Hermiston still have a chance to make the cut for the state tournament by placing third or better, and those numbers sound good to coach Curt Berger.

“For me as a coach hoping for state title run, I think it’s nice to have kids come through and place,” he said. “But the concern is (this) morning and how many of those 15 we can get into the finals.”

Of Hermiston’s championship bracket wins, 18 came by fall and most of those in the first period. Garrett Later rolled through the first two 215-pound rounds with pins at 1:08 and 1:02 and believes he’s on the path to a title.

“I feel physically really good, and I don’t think there’s anyone that’s going to beat me,” the senior said. “I’ve worked four years for this and have been beaten down by older guys, so it’s a great feeling now.”

Ben Jorgensen (103 pounds), Chase Winters (112), Dylan Olsen (119), Brandon Adolf (125), A.J. Almaguer (130), Cody Britt (135), Brent Parks (140), Ethan Parks (140), Marty Britt (145), Ryan Barton (152), Randy Larson (160), Kevin Verwey (171), Troy Kessell (189) and Josh Barraza (285) also remain in the hunt for titles, giving Hermiston a look at every weight class.

“(Today)’s a big day for us to stretch out the lead,” Berger explained. “We have 15 shots to put guys into the finals and (Crook County) has 11. But it still comes down to how the guys wrestle. By 11:30 or noon we should know how we’ll look at the state tournament.”

Pendleton will see 13 of their own again today, with eight still looking at the district championship, and coach Fred Phillips felt his team performed above expectations.

“I couldn’t be happier with the eight guys who are in the semis,” he said. “They did a great job, some of them beating guys they lost to earlier in the year. And we have few guys in there who probably weren’t favorites to be at the beginning of the year, or even the beginning of the week.”

Kenny Melton (135) was the only Pendleton wrestler who entered Friday as the No. 1 seed, and he said getting a win to open a tournament is a big deal no matter who you are.

“The first match is always a little shaky, you’ve just got food in you, so it’s nice to get that out of the way,” explained. “We had some guys out right away, but also we have some guys doing really well.”

Drew Berry picked up two 152-pound pins for a place in the semifinals, and feels he’s in a good position to make a run at the state tournament.

“Coach has me in a good spot today where I can make it to the semifinals. If I’m lucky and can get past (Hermiston’s Randy) Barton, I’ll be pretty happy, but if not I’ll need to keep working through to get third,” the senior said. “It’s really important for me, because I’ve drilled with Kenny Melton since fifth grade and I want to make it to the state bracket so I can practice with him for a last time.”

Brandon Bradley (103), Casey Davis (103), Nick Zubiria (112), Michael Savage (125), Sam Stewart (145) and Trever Armstrong (189) also will represent Pendleton in the semifinals today, beginning at 10 a.m.

First round

103, Ben Jorgensen (Hermiston) bye; Jaylee Britt (HHS) pinned Tyler Bergrud (Bend), 2:42; Brandon Bradley (Pendleton) defeated Sean Dougherty (Bend), tech. fall 15-0; Casey Davis (PHS) pinned Jackson Hill (Summit), 1:00.

112, Chase Winters (HHS) bye; Travis Suttle (PHS) bye; Nick Zubiria (PHS) pinned Dylan Studer (HHS), 1:41.

119, Dylan Olsen (HHS) pinned John Moe (Madras), 1:56; Mitch Rueth (Summit) defeated Tyler Thorne (PHS), 8-3; Quinn Simer (TDW) defeated Brad Thomas (HHS) 14-2.

125, Brandon Adolf (HHS) bye; Michael Savage (PHS) bye; Joe Hatrick (Mountain View) pinned Brody Bowman (HHS), 3:16.

130, Ben Millard (HHS) bye; AJ Almaguer (HHS) bye.

135, Kenny Melton (PHS) bye; Frankie Perez (HHS) pinned Harrison Buller (Madras) 1:14; Cody Britt (HHS) bye.

140, Brent Parks (HHS) pinned Jordan Good (Mountain View), :52; Chris Brace (TDW) pinned John Richardson (PHS), 3:16; Ethan Parks (HHS), bye.

145, Marty Britt (HHS) pinned Clayton Marshfield (Mountain View), :06; Sam Stewart (PHS) pinned Jasper Smith (Madras), 1:56; Dillan Massey (HHS) bye.

152, Ryan Barton (HHS) pinned Stefan Lovewell (TDW), 2:55; Drew Berry (PHS) pinned Brandon O’Brien (Madras), 1:29; Zach Quinn (Madras) defeated Cody Spradlin (HHS), 6-4; Kelly Puckett (Crook County) pinned Jordan Lebsock (PHS), :59.

160, Michael Olivera (PHS) bye; James Breckterfield (TDW) pinned Roberto Madera (HHS), 2:19; JJ Rosenberg (PHS) pinned Michael Johnston (Summit), 4:19; Randy Larson (HHS) pinned Jucoby Frank (Madras), 1:08.

171, Kevin Verwey (HHS) pinned Keegan O’Brien (Madras), :16; Jake Lemberger (PHS) defeated Chris Simpson (Bend), 6-2; Derek Harmon (HHS) pinned Chris Blake (TDW), :23; Dustin Chapman (CC) pinned Ben Bolduc (PHS), 4:53.

189, Troy Kessell (HHS) bye; Trever Armstrong (PHS) defeated Cody Roan (CC), 14-5; Jordan Hewitt (TDW) pinned Tony Schactsick (PHS), 1:06.

215, Garrett Later (HHS) pinned Miles Moore (PHS), 1:08; Keith Jemmett (HHS) bye.

285, Paco Arenas (HHS) bye; Scott Woods (Bend) pinned Justin Lauer (PHS), 1:35; Josh Barraza (HHS) pinned Sheehan Barnhart (PHS), :50.

Second round

103, Jorgensen (HHS) pinned Brent Forseth (CC), 2:51; Bradley (PHS) won by forfeit; Rylee Omlid (CC) defeated J. Britt (HHS), 7-5 OT; Davis (PHS) pinned Rakesh Phillips (Madras), 1:12.

112, Winters (HHS) defeated Riley Wood (CC), 3-1; Stephen Scranton (Madras) defeated Suttle (PHS), 5-2; Zubiria (PHS) defeated Lupe Sanchez (CC), 5-0.

119, Olsen (HHS) defeated Jake Sonnier (Bend), 3-2.

125, Adolf (HHS) pinned David Pike (MVHS), :25; Savage (PHS) pinned Joe Hartrick (MVHS), 3:16.

130, Spud Simer (TDW) defeated Millard (HHS) 5-2; Almaguer (HHS) pinned Wyatt Knight (Bend), 3:02.

135, Melton (PHS) defeated Perez (HHS), tech. fall 18-3; Britt (HHS) pinned Peter Chung (TDW), 2:42.

140, B. Parks (HHS) pinned Jordan Neff (Madras), 2:17; E. Parks (HHS) pinned Cameron Anderson (CC), :43;

145, M. Britt (HHS) defeated Joshua Martin (TDW), 18-5; Stewart (PHS) defeated Owen Quon (Summit), 10-1; Jeremy DuPont (Madras) pinned Massey (HHS), 1:54.

152, Barton (HHS) pinned Jake Shinkle (CC), :47; Berry (PHS) pinned Nick Dodds (MVHS), 1:47.

160, Ryan Smith (CC) pinned Michael Olivera (PHS), 2:30; Larson (HHS) defeated JJ Rosenberg (PHS), 12-3.

171, Verwey (HHS) defeated Lemberger (PHS), 20-10; Shane Cunningham (Bend) defeated Harmon (HHS), tech. fall 26-10.

189, Kessell (HHS) pinned Colton Red Cloud (TDW), :59; Armstrong (PHS) defeated Dustin Connell (Bend), 3-1; Hewitt (TDW) pinned Dopps (HHS), 3:21.

215, Later (HHS) pinned Gerlicher (Summit), 1:02; Howie Mole (CC) pinned Jemmett (HHS), 3:27.

285, Demetri Enesi (TDW) pinned Arenas (HHS), 3:21; Barazza (HHS) pinned Nick Robertson (MVHS), 1:16.

Consolation bracket

103, J. Britt (HHS) pinned Jackson Hill (Summit), 1:15.

112, Rodriguez (Madras) pinned Studer (HHS), 4:09.

119, Thorne (PHS) defeated Mallette (Bend), 14-1, pinned Phillips (Madras), 4:40; Rueth (Summit) defeated Thomas (HHS), 7-2.

125, Bowman (HHS) defeated Justin Brown (Madras), 3-2.

130, Millard (HHS) defated Taylor Coyle (CC), 5-0.

135, Perez (HHS) pinned Nicholls (TDW), 1:45.

140, Rodney Smith (Madras) pinned Richardson (PHS), 5:51.

145, Massey (HHS) defeated Nicco Carbone (TDW), 17-7.

152, Spradlin (HHS) defeated Lebsock (PHS), 135, defeated by Mallette (Bend), 12-4.

160, Madera (HHS) pinned N. Rueth (Summit), defeated by Olivera (PHS), 12-7; Rosenberg (PHS) pinned Randall (TDW), 4:51.

171, Barrett (Madras) pinned Ben Bolduc (PHS), 1:26; Harmon (HHS) pinned Barrett (Madras), 1:26; Lemberger (PHS) defeated McDaniel (Summit), 6-4.

189, L. Roan (CC) pinned Schactsick (PHS), 2:01; Dopps (HHS) pinned Moringowl (Madras), 3:36.

215, Laemmle (Bend) pinned Moore (PHS), 2:48; Jemmett (HHS) pinned Brown (Bend), 1:27.

285, Arenas (HHS) pinned Lauer (PHS), :23; Druery (Summit) pinned Barnhart (PHS), 1:42.